US provides nearly USD 5.9 million in health assistance to India on COVID-19
Washington: The US has provided nearly USD 5.9 million in health assistance to India to contain the spread of COVID-19, the State Department has said.
The amount is being used to help India hinder the spread of the disease by providing care for the affected, disseminating essential public health messages to communities and strengthen case-finding and surveillance, it said on Thursday.
The assistance is also being used to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms for emergency preparedness and response to this pandemic.
"This builds on a foundation of nearly USD2.8 billion in total assistance, which includes more than USD1.4 billion in health assistance, the United States has provided to India over the last 20 years," it said in a update of the US efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The State Department and the US Agency for International Development have now committed nearly USD 508 million in emergency health, humanitarian, and economic assistance.
This is on top of the funding the US has already provide to multilateral and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that are helping communities around the world deal with the pandemic.
Coronavirus cases in India on Thursday crossed 13,000, while 420 people have died of the disease in the country.
In South Asia, America's COVID-19 assistance has gone to Afghanistan (USD18 million), Bangladesh (USD9.6 million), Bhutan (USD500,000), Nepal (USD1.8 million), Pakistan (USD9.4 million) and Sri Lanka (USD1.3 million).
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Air pollution: Car now status symbol, people saving money to buy 4-wheelers, says CJI Surya Kant
New Delhi (PTI): Car has become a status symbol, and people are saving money to buy four-wheelers after stopping using bicycles, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Tuesday.
The CJI's observation came while hearing a plea related to air pollution in Delhi-NCR.
After senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi suggested that a solution to the problem of air pollution can be achieved by cutting down on people owning multiple cars, CJI Kant said, “Car has become a status symbol… People are saving money to buy cars and have stopped using cycles.”
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During the arguments, Dwivedi said the automobile industry is too powerful.
The CJI said, “The rich people should also sacrifice. Instead of going for high-end vehicles, they should go for good electric vehicles.”
Observing that the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) is failing in its duty, the Supreme Court rapped the central pollution watchdog for seeking a two-month adjournment on the issue of temporary closure or relocation of toll plazas on Delhi borders to ease traffic congestion.
The top court criticised the CAQM for the lack of “seriousness” in its approach, and said that it appears to be in no hurry in either identifying the causes of the worsening air quality index (AQI) or finding long-term solutions.
The bench of CJI Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the CAQM to convene a meeting of experts in two weeks and submit a report on the major causes of the worsening pollution levels.
